Apple Knows Its Maps Are Rubbish and Is Hurriedly Hiring to Try and Fix Them

It amazes me that crap products make it out of the factory, be it software or hardware. Surely at some point someone must have said, hang on, this is a bit rubbish, no? Well, it looks like Apple knew its maps were shit before launch, it just didn't have the expertise to fix it.

Multiple job adverts were apparently shoved up last week, specifically listing developers for "the best mapping program on any mobile platform," which to our mind definitely isn't Apple Maps, but anyway. Candidates will be tasked with improving the 3D rendering, roads and terrain, as well as reducing bottle necks, "solving challenging algorithmic problems, and fixing problems" -- basically making it better, then?

It's slightly worrying that it's got to this stage, though, as hiring people in to fix your problems isn't going to be a quick process. I know Apple removed Google Maps over licencing, but surely if you can't get a complete product out to replace it, allow others to do it? Allow a Google Maps app through the review process, as a stopgap at least?

Until that happens, there are a few free mapping apps available that'll hopefully tide you over until either Apple does a solid and fixes Apple Maps, or Google busts out a standalone Google Maps app for iOS 6. Or I guess you could stay on iOS 5; honestly, if you use maps a lot, it might be worth waiting. [ZDNet]